(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method.
(ii) Related Art
In a related-art technique, a to-be-transferred image formed of a toner containing a metal pigment (hereinafter referred to as metal toner) is transferred to a transfer body such as an intermediate transfer belt, and the to-be-transferred image is then transferred to a recording medium that is introduced into a transfer nip formed between the transfer body and a transfer member such as a second transfer belt. In such a configuration, a not-to-be-transferred image such as a patch image that is not to be transferred to the recording medium is also transferred to the transfer body. The not-to-be-transferred image is then transferred to the transfer member. Subsequently, the metal toner forming the not-to-be-transferred image on the transfer member is removed from the transfer member by utilizing an electrostatic force generated by applying a voltage to a removing member.